Art Berke, a lifelong White Sox fan, has worked at the highest levels of the sports industry with Major League Baseball, ABC Television and Sports Illustrated. He grew up in Northwest Indiana, in the shadow of old Comiskey Park, and proudly proclaims 2005 as the best year of his life. Art offers his glass half-full opinions and observations as he lives and dies with the Sox.

Ouch!!

There are not many things I dislike more than the White Sox giving up a lead in the late innings and losing on a walk-off homer.

So, you can’t be surprised when I tell you I got little sleep last night after the Tigers 5-4 triumph.

On our way to the deflating loss, Jake Peavy was magnificent in eight innings of work and Gordon Beckham gave further hope that he’s on his way back with a single, double and two-run blast that gave us a 4-2 lead. Just a few days ago, his batting average was well under the .200 mark. He’s now at .233. The fact these performances were wasted, made Jhonny Peralta‘s two-run, game-winning clout that much more disturbing.

New Sox Closer

Chris Sale couldn’t have been much better in his first foray as a major league starting pitcher (3-1, 2.81 ERA), but the Sox are moving him into the bullpen as the closer to preserve his career. Evidently, the youngster has had soreness and tightness in his elbow and the club is concerned it could cause problems down the road if he continued to start. It appears that Dylan Axelrod will have the first shot at replacing Sale in the rotation.

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